Sky High
by Erich Sturmburg
Summary: Ever since Takumi left for Project D, things were not looking well for Akina Speedstars. What was Kenji hiding from them? Not only that, who's that in the black Mitsubishi Starion?
1. The Black Mitsubishi

**Disclaimer: **The characters of Initial D and You're Under Arrest belong to their respective owners. This goes the same for Mitsubishi, Honda, Nissan, Toyota, and Lotus.

_**SKY HIGH**_

_**BY: OUTLAW-2**_

Akina Mountain; home of a team called Akina Speedstars. They were a level of their own, considering how inferior it was compared to their counterparts; like Akagi Redsuns for example. Of course, a saviour in a form of Takumi Fujiwara, and a Toyota Trueno AE86, reluctantly saved the team, with a little help from someone. Bunta Fujiwara, Takumi's father, was his name and the one responsible getting Takumi his first step into street racing. As one race after another occurred, Akina Speedstars's fame grew, to a point where Ryosuke Takahashi, the leader of Akagi Redsuns, invited Takumi. Yes, Takumi Fujiwara was chosen to be part of Ryosuke's new team; Project D. Agreeing to it. Takumi and his panda paint hachi-roku was 'on loan' to the new team from the Speedstars. Iketani Kouchirou, the leader of Akina Speedstars, came into thinking that they would be all right without Takumi around. However, they were wrong.

_**PROLOGUE: THE BLACK MITSUBISHI…**_

It was two hours past midnight. Akina Mountain seemed peaceful, especially when one views the scenery it possessed. However, the calm, soothing silence was shattered when a roar from an inline-4 engine echoed throughout the mountain, followed by a faint whine of a turbocharger from a vehicle trailing behind. Emerging from the corner first was a lime-green Nissan Silvia S13 that had an engine displacement of 1800cc. Recovering from a powerslide, the coupe's rear edged outwards without the driver knowing. Even though he had swapped for fresh tyres a week ago, the wear and tear had the rear tyres balding faster than the front ones. He counter-steered once again, and depressed the brake pedal. The Nissan did stabilised, at the cost of speed. Dissatisfied, he pulled up at the side of the road and tossed the stopwatch onto the dashboard from his shirt pocket with his rather sweaty hands. The coupe's hazard lights lit up moments later. He merged from the S13K and observed the rear tyres. While doing so, his fellow member in a turbocharged Toyota Levin came into view.

"I hate to admit, but Itsuki sure is all over the road. I'm pretty amused that he had crashed only once, and that's that," the driver of the Silvia thought.

However, there was something amiss; it was as if the Levin was coming straight for him. Taking no chances, he dashed for the barriers and jumped over it. Unfortunately, the Toyota came to a halt almost two metres away from the Nissan. Itsuki got out from the white coupe, and was surprised to see the driver of the Nissan hiding behind the metal barriers.

"Iketani, what are you doing behind there?" asked Itsuki with an amused look.

"Hiding. Who knows, you unexpectedly came towards me in the Levin at high speed!" Iketani stated out the obvious. "You were all over the place at the corners."

"Harsh reality does hurt sometimes," Itsuki winced at the Speedstars leader's comment.

The duo hung around at that specific section of the mountain course; the straightaway after the first corner of the five hairpins. They then recall what had occurred. Shortly after Takumi 'left' Akina Speedstars, Shingo, member of Night Kids dropped by, and had requested for a rematch. Of course, Iketani would turn it down, until Itsuki's big mouth voiced out to Kenji, who was nearby, about how he improved slightly with the heel and toe technique. Obviously, what Itsuki meant to say was that he did managed to execute the move, but being all over the road. That was when Shingo sparked off, proving to Akina Speedstars that he could defeat them in a heartbeat. Before Iketani could reason with the short-fused Night Kids member, Shingo had gotten into his red Honda Civic EG6 hatchback and sped off.

There was nothing they could do except for one thing; more practice. For the past two weeks, Iketani and Itsuki had been practicing till late at night. Kenji was unable to join in, and the only reason he came up with was 'personal reasons'. That had the two lonely drivers feeling overly suspicious about the driver of the white 180SX, Kenji. However, that was not the problem. The one they should worry was the Akina downhill battle against Shingo coming Sunday, which was in five days' time.

Iketani and Itsuki let out a sigh in unison. Nothing was going well for them. As the duo dragged their leg back to their respective coupes, the sound of an engine was heard. They paused to listen. Tyres squealed uncontrollably. The faintest whine of the turbocharger was barely heard. The sounds became louder by the second. Iketani and Itsuki looked at the road uphill. Tyres squealed madly, this time with the source making its appearance. From the way it behaved, the black coupe oversteered unexpectedly; it was a front engine, rear wheel drive. Iketani took a closer look at the brand badge; Mitsubishi. He gasped. Was there another known driver who drives a black Mitsubishi other than Kyouichi Sudou from Emperor? Iketani was sure there was no such other driver.

As the Mitsubishi counter-steered, unexpectedly, the coupe's tyres gripped. Iketani and Itsuki shut their eyes, not wanting to see the coupe crash into the outside barriers. But, it never came. They cracked their eyes open, and saw the rear wheel drive coupe come to a spinning halt. However, it did not end there. Smoke began emitting from the seams of the hood. Not a good sign for the car. The owner of the Mitsubishi got out of the black coupe, and popped open the hood.

"Just as I thought. There's something wrong with the radiator. Is it a leak?" he muttered.

From afar, Iketani and Itsuki pondered what was going on. Curiousity overcame them as the duo went up to the Mitsubishi, thinking they could help the driver in one way or another. Both of them caught a glimpse of the car's model. A Mitsubishi Starion. Not only that, it was the GSR-VR model, meaning it had a wider body than the other Starion makes. Iketani went up to the driver and asked whether he required assistance. That was when Iketani took a good look at the owner of the black Starion.

He had a rather lanky build, and stood about 170 centimetres tall. He sported short black hair, which was trimmed at the sides. He wore a grey T-shirt that had the picture of an outline of a Mitsubishi Sapporo, and grey denim straight-cut jeans. He turned to look at Iketani after explaining the coupe's problem, and introduced himself.

"I apologise for not introducing first. My name is Ukyo Masakata. You can call me Ukyo," he said in a friendly tone. "And, well, I have been trying to drive fast down Akina Mountain, but I can't seem to handle the corner very well. All I can do is grip around them."

"I see. I assume you were trying to drift around the corners?" asked Iketani while potato face Itsuki was beginning to grope the Mitsubishi Starion.

Ukyo let out a heavy sigh, "Yes. Guess I'm not good at it. Why did I bother? Especially when I actually knew this 200BHP Starion had a problem with the radiator."

**… … …**


	2. Ukyo and the Radiator

_**CHAPTER 1**_

_**UKYO AND THE RADIATOR**_

Ever since Ukyo's introduction with Iketani, and Itsuki the car molester, things had gone for the worse. Not only there was something faulty with his second-hand Starion, he had been kicked out of the job as a salaryman due to his poor performance. Income has been tight, and he had realized something; Ukyo would run out of money in four days' time. He needed to get a job, but where?

"How about working in a gas station?" potato faced Itsuki recommended with enthusiasm. "That way, Iketani-sempai can do something about that leaky radiator."

That sounds like a good idea, he thought. Maybe meeting these two was a blessing in disguise. Of course, at least, he thought so…

… … …

"I dumped the Sea of Japan into the radiator, and guess what? I formed another Lake Akina in the garage!" scowled Iketani, helping Itsuki's slurred, guilty voice.

Only two days have passed, and chaos had already erupted. While newcomer Ukyo was taught how to maintain the station by Iketani, Itsuki had sneaked into the garage, and chucked a running hose into the radiator in attempt to fill it up. However, the amount of water gushing out from the bottom was more than being filled in. Hence forth, Lake Akina was formed in the garage, courtesy of Itsuki's itchy hands.

Ukyo let out a heavy sigh. He knew better; he should not have bought that Starion. But what was done could not be undone.

"We'll make do with the old, 'egg' technique. It should temporary seal the hole," Ukyo insisted, since his income was coming close to an end.

Itsuki lit up, and scrambled into the store to get one. While doing so, Ukyo and Iketani observed the damage.

"Why does the words 'Pacific Ocean' come into my mind?" muttered Iketani.

"Beats me," replied Ukyo. "Come on, let's push the Starion out before a flashflood occurs."

As the two of them pushed the black Mitsubishi out of the garage, Potato face popped out of nowhere, chucking the egg into the radiator. An observant Iketani took notice of it, and questioned Itsuki.

"Was that a real egg or-,"

Itsuki cut off his question, answering it straight away, "Chocolate egg!"

Two pairs of eyes blinked repeatedly at Itsuki's reply. They swore the word 'chocolate' was included in the answer. Ukyo planted his face into his right hand. Iketani followed suit. They never knew Itsuki was a total klutz in such a way.

"Why not putting a chocolate factory into my radiator then?" Ukyo remarked sarcastically.

With Itsuki being chokehold by a furious Iketani, and Ukyo letting out a heavy sigh from a distance, a red Honda Civic EG6 dropped by, with a rather boastful driver behind the wheel. He got out from the hatchback, with a look enough to piss off anyone around him.

"So, Akina Speedstars; you got yourselves another idiotic member in the group," he mocked. "So, he drives this black Starion, eh? Don't disappoint me this coming Sunday. I'll be expecting you on the starting line."

That made Ukyo puzzled. He was mistaken as a member of Iketani's Akina Speedstars. Iketani and Itsuki froze, somehow shocked by Shingo's poor assumptions. However, once again, the short tempered person got into his hatchback, and sped off. Ukyo stood there, not moving a muscle. Iketani took a glance at his face. A total goner, he thought.

"I do have to apologise, Ukyo. Now, he, Shingo, has chosen you to be his opponent on the upcoming downhill battle in Akina Mountain," Iketani said with a tone of guilt.

However, Ukyo seemed a little happy about it. He glanced at Itsuki, then at Iketani, and finally at his beloved Starion.

"I'd like to know how I would fare. It's been a while since I was in a battle," he answered, re-adjusting the company's cap.

"When was that?" busybody Itsuki asked.

"About four months ago. I lost when I went against a black Nissan Skyline GTR R32 in Myogi downhill. His name was… Takeshi Nakazato, if my memory serves correctly," Ukyo replied, sitting on the hood of the Starion. "Those were the times."

Iketani and Itsuki paused. Somehow, there was something different about Ukyo. It was as if he used to be in Nakazato's Night Kids. Maybe something had occurred, resulting a new rivalry. However, that was not their main concern. Repairing the Mitsubishi Starion was the top priority. That is, until a weird stench came from the radiator was smelt.

"The chocolate egg!" Itsuki exclaimed. "It melted in the radiator!"

"You idiot!" Iketani swore under his breath, chokeholding Itsuki once again.

"Argh!" went Itsuki's remark.

Ukyo let out another heavy sigh. Things sure are lively with the duo around. Akina Speedstars, he thought. He may consider joining in the team, especially since Iketani and Itsuki helped him out het a job. Time to repay the favour, he thought. As Ukyo popped open the hood, a powerful stench crept up into his nose, staring his variation of a ruckus.

"Itsuki! Was that a chocolate egg or animal manure? It smells as if I've crapped in my radiator!"

"Sorry!" yelped the Potato-face.


	3. Calm Before The Storm

**_CHAPTER 2   
THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM _**

****

Days seemed like hours when Sunday came. Ukyo glanced at his black Starion once again, checking the radiator, just in case the repair was an absolute failure. It was well done; hence it did make him feel relieved, finally. Guess Itsuki's absence during the repair was a good idea after all. Who knows what trouble he would do when he is present.

"Probably another hole in the radiator and wreck my turbocharger," went Iketani, trying to picture the outcome. "Or even another Lake Akina incident."

"Don't remind me that Chocolate Egg incident. It turned out he chucked in an expired one. That potato," Ukyo sighed, somehow slapping his forehead in frustration.

The leader of Akina Speedstars paced his way next to the driver of the Starion, patting his right shoulder, "You're going to win this one. I assume you know how Shingo drives?"

Ukyo let out a grunt, though unintentionally, "Guess so. But I can't tell. It's been a long time since I was in a battle. I wonder if my skills are still squeaky clean, or needed a lot of oiling."

"Whatever it is, try your best," Iketani chuckled. "Push hard, but don't go to the point you see yourself flying out of the course and go airborne like a Kamikaze Zero fighter."

"Oy! Iketani, Ukyo! Hurry up! We have only one hour before the race starts!" went Itsuki in his Toyota Levin. "I'm going on ahead!"

"Go on, Itsuki. I bet I'll reach there first even if you're halfway through," replied Iketani with a challenging tone.

"Hey!"

**… … … **

****

Fifty minutes have passed, and the galleries of Akina Mountain was surprisingly packed, majority of them were Night Kids supporters keen of seeing Akina Speedstars getting crushed by the hands of Shingo. The red Honda Civic EG6 sat the starting line with an idling engine. A hard clunk was heard from a nearby barrier, courtesy of Shingo himself. Frustrated as he had always been, he scowled while his unlit cigarette dented by his lips.

"Is that idiot running away from this battle?" he shot out his words. "Pathetic."

He glanced at the road once again, eager to see at least a pair of headlights shining into his direction. His pleas were answered as two pairs appeared from the corner, one being the one Shingo had challenged to; the Mitsubishi Starion. Another tailing behind was an olive green Nissan Silvia S13, but Shingo was not bothered about him. The Starion had him psyched up, ready to start the battle anytime. Ukyo stole a glance at his smirking rival, before he maneuvered his coupe in such a way that his Starion was right next to the EG6.

Ukyo made his way out of the Mitsubishi, with his engine idling underneath the bonnet. The Night Kids member picked his unlit cigarette from his lips before flicking it into Ukyo's direction. A grunt left his mouth, not bothered to comment on the lowly Starion. Shingo was confident that he would win this battle, especially…

…when he had been trashed by Ukyo himself four months ago.

Rolling down the windows of his Honda Civic, Shingo finally revealed Ukyo's secret to everyone who could hear his voice, "Ukyo Masakata, the traitor of Night Kids, You shall be defeated by me, once and for all!"

Iketani, who had heard it, froze in his tracks. He could not believe who Ukyo really was. He knew there was something strange about him when Iketani first met him, but he did not expect the truth to be such big news. Ukyo glanced at Iketani with regret, knowing that he should have told him earlier on. However, what had happened, happened, and there was no way he would turn back now. Just then, another pair of headlights finally came rolling by, with Itsuki bearing a dumbfounded face. He never knew Iketani and Ukyo could outrun him by several kilometers when he was already ahead half way through.

"Ukyo, Iketani! Give me your turbochargers! Mine is just miniscule!" begged the potato-face. "I want to go faster!"

"Uhh… Itsuki, why were you using only the 5th gear throughout? No wonder me and Iketani could catch up," went Ukyo, knowing what had occurred. "You were driving economically."

"R-really?" went Itsuki, glancing at his gearknob, which was situated at 5th. "Oh! I see."

"Oh, I see; my foot," went Ukyo, somehow still furious about the 'Chocolate Egg' incident. "Anyway, begin the countdown. I think Shingo over there is going to pop one of his blood vessels soon."

Without anymore time wasted, Potato-face Itsuki began the countdown as the two coupes revved their engines, left hand on the handbrake, and the right on the steering wheel. Just as soon the countdown hit zero, the front wheels of the Honda Civic squealed harshly, taking the lead from the start. Ukyo, on the other hand, could not bother doing a spinning start as he rolled through the start before hammering down the gas pedal upon hitting the second gear. Ahead by about ten metres was Shingo, who was barreling down the straight before flooring the brakes, ready to steer into the corner by powersliding. His eyes stole a glance at the rear view mirror; Ukyo was no longer in sight, except for the incoming pair of headlights- wait, incoming?

"W-what?" went Shingo, barreling through the first corner, clearing it from the inside. "Am I dreaming?"

No matter, he should not be bothered by Ukyo's tricks, if he had earlier on. Punching into third gear, the EG6, sped down the straight once again, when the headlights came up into his rear view mirror.

"Is that really Ukyo?" went Shingo, not realizing cold sweat breaking out from his forehead.

**… … … **

****

As Ukyo shoved the gear knob to 3rd, the first corner soon came as if the course had shortened by several metres. Tapping the brakes several times, he shoved the gear stick down to 2nd, where the coupe was sent slipping on the inside slightly before full grip took place. Flooring the accelerator at the second half of the corner, the Starion cleared it on the outside of the corner, before punching the gear knob back to 3rd. It was unusual for Ukyo that his coupe slipped before the corner came; he had never done it before. No matter, it did help him to enter the corner quite quickly. The rear lights from Shingo's EG6 could be seen from the distance before the second corner came. Tapping the brakes once again, Ukyo punched the gear stick to 2nd, and tapped on the gas. The coupe slid out more than expected, sending Ukyo into a panic momentarily as the Starion stabilized halfway through the corner.

"That was too close," went Ukyo, forehead breaking out in cold sweat. "I'll just stick to my grip handling then."

The fiasco at the second corner had cost him several seconds, increasing the gap in between them. No matter, Ukyo was serious this time. With the third corner coming up next, he floored the brakes, hard before shoving the gearknob to third, revmeter went down to 3500rpm. The coupe shuddered for a moment before the turbo kicked in the second half of the corner, where he geared up to 3rd. The rear light of Shingo's EG6 was spotted once again, and Ukyo was sure that he would not lose sight of him again. Determination set in, as he gears up to 4th.

"Don't worry Shingo," went Ukyo. "I'll try to humiliate you once again, this time not as a traitor of Night Kids, but as a wandering driver."


End file.
